THE CROWNE discussion

Welcome to our first monthly book discussion. The book selected for May is Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi! With its description being: "Translated fiction + magical realism. It's a few interconnected stories with the setting and one character in common. People solve their problems, and time travel is involved.

Here's the blurb for it:

In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time.

In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the café’s time-travelling offer, in order to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by early onset Alzheimer's, to see their sister one last time, and to meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.

But the journey into the past does not come without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the café, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold . . .

This is one of those books where you can't read one without reading the whole series—regardless of quality lol. Let's see how this goes.

The book in second place is The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

The book will be discussed here and, how much of the book is a spoiler free zone will be updated every few days, though you should still mark major spoilers.

HOW OUR MONTHLY BOOKS WORK

On the final day of every month (or before that—it's irrelevant really), members can privately start giving suggestions for books they want to see in the poll. Not all will make it to the poll however—it'll consist of seven books.

If your suggestion wins, +5 Points to your team. You can not disclose the fact that you have suggested a book at all, much less reveal what it is.

After the poll is over, the selected book will be discussed here, and reading it or fulfilling the Literary Nonsense tasks related to the book will give you points. Reading the book and writing a review consisting of at least a hundred words excluding quotes by default will give you a +10 Points.

THE POINTS

AKA the part you all actually care about. After the month is coming to an end or somewhere in between, points will be given out for certain achievements. Here's the full list:

•Finish the book: +5 for all
•Review over a hundred words excluding quotes: +5 for all
•Review exceeds 500 words excluding quotes: +10 for all
•First to finish and review: +5 (don't rush it)
•Best Voted Review (can't vote your own team): +15
•Longest review excluding quotes: +10
•Reading another book by the author and reviewing it (50+ words): +5 each for all
•Reading a book by the author without review: Double the points of the book
•Most books read by the author: +10, can't be tied
•Most Productive Contributer to the discussion: +10 (most productive ≠ number of comments)
•Read and review the second place book: +5 for all

If you have any other ideas for a category, general or not, please let us know. It doesn't have to be book related, get creative!

Additionally, there are two types of hidden categories from which you can earn points as well.

The first one will remain undisclosed for now, but we ask each team to pick a member who WILL be reading a book. :)

The second one, well, I can't quite say it either. But on a paper I've written promots that will not be said, and unknowingly fulfilling any of them is worth +5 or +10 points.

These will be revealed at the end of the month. Things like "First to rate the book 3 stars" or "First to call the main character stupid" etc.

The single person to earn the most points will get to deduct -25 Points from another team. IF they sacrifice 15 points, they can deduct an additional -25.

With that being said, start reading! ☕🧶🪑

If there are any mistakes, please do let me know. I am eyeing sleep the moment I wrote this.

And if you have ANY suggestions for another category, please please please tell me through the Suggestions topic or PMs. It will only open up more opportunities for points to YOU.

this is so fun i love it

Dreamcatcher wrote: "So... who's reading it?"

meee

me too

time to start😈

i’ll try

this is .. just for fun right? no competition?

Dreamcatcher wrote: "So... who's reading it?"

not me

sama (may s-ia) wrote: "this is .. just for fun right? no competition?"

For the most part yes, but you do get points for certain categories if you do then first

shania wrote: "this is so fun i love it"

Because of the points?

Dreamcatcher wrote: "sama (may s-ia) wrote: "this is .. just for fun right? no competition?"

For the most part yes, but you do get points for certain categories if you do then first"

oh alright !

sama (may s-ia) wrote: "this is .. just for fun right? no competition?"

not at all

Aaand of course I forgot the most important part

Dreamcatcher wrote: "shania wrote: "this is so fun i love it"

Because of the points?"

not just that

Dreamcatcher wrote: "Aaand of course I forgot the most important part"

what is itt

did her battery finish

shania wrote: "did her battery finish"

die? how do you say it

Added it, and yes I switched devices

it says that we can suggest books for the upcoming BOTMs, but is there a specific criteria that the suggested books have to follow? like should it be a certain page amount or whatever

shania wrote: "shania wrote: "did her battery finish"

die? how do you say it"

i just said run out

Dreamcatcher wrote: "Added it, and yes I switched devices"

i can’t find it

sama (may s-ia) wrote: "it says that we can suggest books for the upcoming BOTMs, but is there a specific criteria that the suggested books have to follow? like should it be a certain page amount or whatever"

It'll be out later

sama (may s-ia) wrote: "Dreamcatcher wrote: "Added it, and yes I switched devices"

i can’t find it"

Second last paragraph

Dreamcatcher wrote: "sama (may s-ia) wrote: "it says that we can suggest books for the upcoming BOTMs, but is there a specific criteria that the suggested books have to follow? like should it be a certain page amount o..."

alrighttt!

Did I miss something? Reading the book gives us points? Do we have to be the ones doing something first to earn the points? Is the explication somewhere and I’m just dumb and didn’t see it? You can redirect me there if that’s the case

Carolina wrote: "Did I miss something? Reading the book gives us points? Do we have to be the ones doing something first to earn the points? Is the explication somewhere and I’m just dumb and didn’t see it? You can..."

not really, this is just a botm discussion group, for the botm that started today!! yes!! no, unless it’s specified in the points section!! no you’re not dumb!!

do u wanna read it with us carolina??

Yes sure, I meant to try this book sometime ago so it’s perfect

yayyy 🥳🥳🥳

But are there some specific dates or something? Or you just read it and talk about it?

i don’t think there are any specific dates (that we know of) so i’m pretty sure it’s just reading and talking!

Done, read and reviewed

- Hanna

Hanna☽୧ྀ✧ (s-ia) wrote: "Done, read and reviewed

- Hanna"

yayy awesome job hanna 🥳🥳

Carolina wrote: "But are there some specific dates or something? Or you just read it and talk about it?"

Well, the end of the month I suppose

Q. Should we clear this topic every time or make a seperate folder ?

clear the folder, so that we only have one and not several

WDYM clear the FOLDER? ?

I meant should we clear this topic monthly or make a folder with a new topic per book each month

that’s what i meant, clear the topic. sorry, i’m kind of sleepy lol

Dreamcatcher wrote: "Q. Should we clear this topic every time or make a seperate folder ?"

seperate folder 🥹 for the memories i guess

Dreamcatcher wrote: "I meant should we clear this topic monthly or make a folder with a new topic per book each month"

separate topic in the same folder

shania wrote: "Dreamcatcher wrote: "I meant should we clear this topic monthly or make a folder with a new topic per book each month"

separate topic in the same folder"

yes

"He pulled out a carton of orange juice from the fridge under the counter, poured it nonchalantly into the glass, and gulped it down."


guuuuyssss he's so nonchalant

finished itt

🥳🥳 🙌🏻

If you read any book worth points, or this book, or write a review. Please say/link it here

@dream what do you mean by this??

sarah 🍉 wrote: "@dream what do you mean by this??"

i think she’s saying that because you can get points by reading other books from the author of before the coffee gets cold

so if i read the second book of btcgc with no review i just get double the point of the book?